Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, has not given up on finding land for the new hospital.

A battle over access to land on which to build a new hospital, desperately required to service Du Noon residents, has resulted in the province looking for a new site on which to build the facility.

Provincial Health Department MEC Theuns Botha said the land they wanted to build on was owned by the National Department of Public Works, but the national department had been uncooperative and the province has been unable to get them to free it up.

The DA run province reportedly ran into the same problem with the Department of Public Works when it tried to access land to expand school facilities in Grabouw, which was rocked by protests over overcrowding at a school there in April.

However, Botha said the building of the R76m Du Noon Community Health Centre was still on the cards and the 2014 deadline for completion would still be met.

He said his department had been trying to get access to the land for three years but had given up trying to get cooperation from public works and was now looking for an alternative site on which to build the much-anticipated health centre.

“We can’t wait for national department of public works any longer.

“They can stick to their land. We are going to look somewhere else,” said Botha.

The land where the province initially wanted to build the 4000 square metre hospital is situated in Killarney Gardens near the Killarney Race Track and would service the communities of Du Noon, Joe Slovo, Doornbach, Montague Gardens, Killarney and surrounds.

He said Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and Cape Town Executive Mayor Patricia De Lille had requested the land but had received no positive response from the national department.

Botha said all efforts had been “worthless” and working with the national Department of Public Works had been a “huge disappointment”.

Residents of Du Noon are in dire need of a proper health facility as the current city run clinic operates in a 17-year-old inadequate structure initially used to house building materials during the construction of RDP houses in the township.

Earlier this year when temperatures soared, a nurse attending to patients fainted because the clinic structure lacked ventilation, sparking protests among Du Noon residents which led to temporary closure of the clinic.

The province is currently spending R1m to covert a nearby warehouse into a functional clinic in order to replace the existing facility.

Meanwhile, although chronic medication is still obtainable from the clinic dispensary, mothers and children are transported to Table View clinic with transport provided by the provincial health department.

Cape Town Executive Mayor Patricai De Lille together with Western Cape Premier Helen Zille visited the clinic unannounced this week on Monday.

Speaking yesterday De Lille said she had found a long queue of people most of them women with infants tied to their back.

She said the women had complained to her that it was now winter and there was no shelter under which to queue when it rained.

She said she had explained the problem over access to land for the new hospital to residents “The request for land started long ago. We’re making a passionate plea to national department of public works to release the land,” said De Lille.

Meanwhile Botha said his department will this week be setting up a mobile clinic to assist in serving the health needs of Du Noon and Doornbach residents.

Public Works Department spokesperson Sabelo Melo said handing over land included a “number of processes” including vetting and that it “cannot be an overnight thing”.

Melo said his Minister had met Zille and De Lille on February 16 to discuss a number of challenges that the Western Cape was experiencing which included the plans for the new hospital.

“We are taken by surprise with the manner the province is dealing with the matter. Instead of dealing with the issue with us they are rushing to the media,” said Melo. — Peter Luhanga

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One Response to “Public Works won’t let go of land for new hospital, says province”

If you’re embarking in your self construct it is important you are taking nothing without any consideration if the plot appear low-cost there will be a reason for it.

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